this morning on "early today," political bombshell. did the bush administration try to manipulate the terror alert level on the eve of the 2004 presidential election? point of impact. a police camera captures a horrific head-on collion in indiana. and what were they thinking? a racing photo leads to a firing and several suspensions at a a racing photo leads to a firing and several suspensions at a sheriff's department in texas. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with seeing red. in what he calls a dramatic and inconceivable event, former homeland security secretary tom ridge says he was pressured by top bush administration

officials to raise the nation's terror alert level just ahead of the 2004 presidential election. it was, according to ridge, an apparent effort to influence the vote. in a new book, ridge said he resisted that move despite being urged by donald rumsfeld and john ashcroft. the administration manipulated the terror alert level for political reasons. ridge said the event reinforced his decision to resign. however, other bush insiders are insisting there was no intent to a little bit size national security. he was convicted of killing 270 people in a devastating terrorist attack back in 1998 -- excuse me, 1988. but now after serving just eight years of his life sentence, a former libyan agent is a freeman.

scottish officials released him on compassionate grounds. the 5-year-old has terminal cancer. his early release has triggered outrage among families of the victims who were killed in lockerbie, scotland. the cash for clunkers rebate program is out of gas after a run that was, well, almost too successful. as nbc's leanne gregg reports, drivers still have until next monday to take advantage. >> reporter: not much time left for those wanting to cash in on their clunker. the program that some are calling one of the government's most successful economic plans ends monday. cash for clunkers offers rebates up to $4,500 to car buyers trading in old gas guzzlers. it's been so popular, the initial $1 billion in funding ran out in less than two weeks,

prompting congress to scramble and add another 2 billion. >> dealers have sold cars like they haven't sold them in quite some time. manufacturers are producing cars like they haven't in quite some time. >> reporter: but there are complaints. car dealers who reported delays in government reimbursements, unprocessed applications and others that must be resubmitted because the forms were filled out incorrectly. >> we're now slightly victims of success because the thing happened so quick. there was so much more demand than anybody expected that dealers were overwhelmed with applications. >> reporter: some say it's hard to complain about thousands of cars that have been sold because of the program. >> and i'm sure in the next few weeks they're going to break the log jam and get the rebates flowing. >> reporter: the government says the money is there and will go to the dealers in a plan that's received an overwhelming response. leanne gregg, nbc news. now here's a look at some

other stories making news "early today" in america. a police officer's dash cam captured a shocking head-on collision in indiana. it rammed directly into that officer. neither the officer nor that 18-year-old driver was seriously injured. the driver had not been drinking before that crash. a car jacker caused a boat load of trouble in the state of connecticut. the suspect stole a truck towing a 32-foot boat. the pursuit ended when that $175,000 boat toppleded off the trailer and slides along the highway. the driver then stopped and was apprehend apprehended. in florida, a jewelry store employee was ambushed at a gas station. surveillance video shows the 81-year-old at the pump when four masked men pulled up, jumped the man and grabbed a $20,000 bag of jewelry all in 15

seconds. no arrests in this case have been made. a deputy in iowa had a front row view for wild weather there. his dash cam video was rolling when a tornado touched down right in front of him. no one was hurt from that twister but it caused a significant amount of property damage. an illinois woman learned it is bad when anyone drives into your business but much worse when you drive into your own business. a woman of a travel agency plowed into her own store. minor injuries to herself and her receptionist. big cleanup too. now for a look at the national and regional forecast, nbc meteorologist todd santos with the weather channel forecast. >> i think we have a cool shot of this from space if we can take a look at that. pretty nasty video there. yeah, you get the idea. pretty significant storm. superimposed in the state of texas over hurricane bill. they're about the same size. that gives you an idea of the

span of this system. the last couple hours you have seen the eye getting clouded over there. still, a major hurricane. category 3. maximum sustained winds 120 miles per hour. this is a good type of storm thanks to the fact that it's out in open waters of the ocean. one area that could take significant impact would be towards bermuda, the little white dot there. beyond that, we have a tropical we'll talk about in a moment that should keep the system off the coast. upwards of 15 to 20 feet off cape cod, cape hatteras this weekend. the trough will be causing unsettled water through new york, d.c., boston, northern new jersey in time for saturday. it will also help to deflect this system as it makes its way to the coastline. we'll certainly be ready for some of them in the major cities in the east today. that's a look at the region. now let's look at your local

forecast. portland, maine, chances for showers towards grand rapids, michigan. philly the next couple days the trough moves in, we'll see persistent chance for showers. still, warm and humid conditions. so, dan, a number of areas still warm and humid. i don't know if you've been outside around new york city the last couple days. looking for a little bit more of that to finish off. >> i think i dropped 20 pounds just in sweating. looking for the cooloff. aig plans to pay off, manufacturing jumps back, and starbuck gives and taketh away. plus, "inglourious baster " basterds." we'll tell you what it has going for it and against it at the box office this weekend. a new uniform for plaxico burress. lightning strikes twice for molt. and what's gotten into the red sox? you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and here are some of your top headlines this friday morning. preliminary results are not expected for several days in afghanistan where millions voted in a presidential election despite terrorists of violence from the taliban. at least 26 people were killed in election-related violence. less than half of eligible voters went to the polls. this morning's "new york times" is shedding some light on the degree to which the cia now depends on outside contractors to perform some of the agency's most important assignments. according to government officials, the private security firm formerly known as blackwater plays a direct role to the predator program, loading bombs and missiles onto drones to hit targets in afghanistan and pakistan. this attracted criticism and allegations of brutality in iraq.

this summer's average global ocean temperature 62.6 degrees is the warmest temperature since recordkeeping began. that might be good news for swimmers, but the warmer water could add to the melting of sea ice and mobile strengthen hurricanes. and midland county, texas deputy was fired yesterday and three suspended after a waitress was allowed to hold a rifle and pose she deductively on the hood of a patrol car. they admitted to three to five beers each when that incident took place last week. now here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens 9,350 after adding 70 points on thursday. s&p inched up 10. nasdaq rose as well 19 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei lost 145 points while in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 129 points. wall street up for the third straight day thursday with

financial sector leading the way. aig, once the world's largest insurer and the recipient of $80 billion bailout dollars, sky rocketed on news from its ceo that it plans to repay the loans. citigroup got a boost from aig's positive news and end of the day up 8.5%. and more proof the recession is probably over, the index of leading economic indicators was up in july for a fourth month now in a row. both helped offset the second unexpected weekly rise in job claims. consumers don't appear to be cutting back on staples. heinz and hormel beat achb lists's estimates. shares of google were up more than 3% after goldman sachs gave its vote of confidence adding the enter set search leader of stocks to buy. starbucks, vente caramel could

cost you 25 cents more while a simple cup of joe will likely cost a few cents less. starbucks started raising prices on its complex drinks and lowering the price of basic ones. wall street will wait for any update from fed chairman ben bernanke when he speaks at a meeting in wyoming. and finally, former pick pocketers in london are giving new meaning to the term pay it forward. in an effort to brighten people's days, one person enlisted 20 former pick pockets to push cash into people's pockets. the plan, to give out 100,000 pounds or 164,000 u.s. dollars all by the end of the month. so take a trip to london. could pay off. a huge ruling in college basketball. and another nfl star is headed to prison. plus, nobody can accuse the

tigers brandon inge of just phoning it in. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and we'll be dealing with a few unsettled spots for your frimpt what will the weekend hold? that forecast coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning.

ifyou're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, new york giants receiver who was a hero in the super bowl two years ago is now anything but a hero. here's nbc fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. it wouldn't have mattered if but how long. how long would plaxico burress in prison for accidentally shooting himself last november. he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a weapon and accepted a simply bargain with a two-year prison term. to baseball, red sox, after scoring 16 runs in the last two games, boston put up another eight against the blue jays. martinez hit as many in as many days. tigers and mariners, brandon inge, tiger third baseman tracked down the foul ball, went head over heels to make the

grab. with total disregard for his body, ended up in the first row but made the play. tie game. two down. one for thomas, ripping a line drive past first. cabrera scored the winning run. to cincinnati where the reds and giants needed extra innings. drew with his second career game, a little bit of nerves. walk-off homer. first of his career. called up just three days ago and already he's a hero. college basketball, they'll be forced to vacate their 38 wins because of ncaa violations under former head coach. infractions include a fraudulent s.a.t. score by derrick rose. another record-setting race for

bolt at the world track and field championships in berlin. earlier this week he smashed the mark in the 100 meter. a world record time of 19.19 seconds. american wallace spearman finished third while tyson gay withdrew because of an injury. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> thank you, fred. can a sci-fi alien spooker hold off brad pitt this weekend at the box office? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a town gives something back to a family who has given their all. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." very happy friday for you. a chance for showers especially across the southeast. boston, buffalo, chances for thunderstorms, especially later on this afternoon. and saturday with that system off the coastline, certainly stay out of the water and the beaches on significant rip current risk on the east coast. if you're watching nbc 12 in richmond, virginia, frollick among butterflies at lewis ginter botanical garden butterflies live exhibit. although "inglourious basterds" looks sure to be number one this weekend, its studio is looking for more from

the quintin tarantino film. for drawing power, it teams brad pitt with director quentin tarantino. the bad news, it's rated r and runs 2 1/2 hours. the company that produced this one has had financial troubles and needs a hit. it should earn 20 $25 milli$2 $ $30 million this weekend. they will steal thunder and limit the alien epics to second to $15 million to $18 million. shorts by robert rodriguez looks headed for third. reviews have been kind of bad. audience research shows little interest. still, it's a new family film which should earn $8 million to $10 million simply by default. good for those with short attention spans.

it's just little vignettes of stories. >> i can't remember the last time quentin tarantino was a letdown. this comes from wxia 11 alive in atlanta, a community pulled together to give a family with big parts one very big helping hand. with 24 adopted kids with special needs, the murphy family has been struggling to make ends meet. the folks came to the rescue, building them a brand-new house. the murphy s now not only have plenty of room they have a playground to enjoy in that backyard. i'm dan kloeffler. this is "early today," just your fist stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> and a very happy friday to you. hope you're doing well. up and adam. we really have an active situation severe weather is inching closer to us and will continue to move throughout the area today and tomorrow. nothing around hagerstown or baltimore. showers are splitting to our north and south. at any rate warm, 81 degrees, 79 at the airport and 86 in ocean city, warm and humid again today, 88 to 92 is the high and scattered thunderstorms and tonight with the winds picking up then which i think to be -- change on the way for the second half of your weekend. >> 4:57 and here's a look ahead at 11 news today. >> three suspects are behind bars in the beating of an

elderly man and his wife speaks to wbal 11 news. >> and cash for clunkers will end on monday under pressure to make sure the program is seen as a success. >> and we're tracking an early morning problem and check the

dad, could you help me build a sand castle? sure, pal. let's just find a good spot. [ dramatic music plays ] a big day at the beach with the legendary taste of dunkin' donuts coffee on ice. this looks like a good spot. you kin' do it. america runs on dunkin'.

treat yourself today with an authentic caramel swirl iced latte. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good friday morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us for 11 news today. >> first a check of your forecast. i was sort of sweating the minute i walked out the door. >> it's 81 downtown right now and 86 in ocean city. really tropical moist air mass that just hasn't moved anywhere. a front. such a deliberate mover.